Category Archives: Animals

Post navigation

We have an exterior camera – mostly to watch animals and hear the birds – that alerted me to the fact that something was rustling through the leaves on the patio steps.

I looked up at the monitor and saw two opossums walking across the patio. One larger than the other, so I expect it may be a mother and a teenager. The mother went to the ground feeder and the younger one climbed the dogwood tree.

I didn’t mean to scare her away, because opossums eat my junk birdseed.

Whenever I think birdseed in other feeders has gotten too old, I put it in this feeder – for the animals that forage on junk food – and opossums are best at that. They eat the shells of black oil sunflower seeds and will even eat moldy birdseed.

Our daughter Deb said they eat ticks, so I checked it out on Google – and they do eat lots of them.

I think we will keep them in our yard.

I went to the other door to photograph the younger one. I expect it was headed for suet that was hanging in the tree. I don’t often see them this close and was again surprised by its pink nose.

They must have come back during the night, because the “junk” feeder was empty in the morning.

This is what I brought home from the Steam Show in Berryville, Virginia. I had the hanging apparatus – from a secondhand store – for several years and was looking for something to fit inside it. I had been using baskets, but they rot after a few months.

I found this graniteware strainer at one of the antique vendors. It is a perfect fit.

The matching ladle came from the same vendor.

It didn’t take long for the birds to find it.

A moth even stopped by one evening.

I captured a few other pictures while keeping a check on my new birdfeeder.

I was delighted to find a pair of goldfinches feeding at the newest additions to my feeders.

“Hey, miss. May I eat at this feeder?”

“No, you are not welcome there.”

“Did I hear you correctly. You don’t want me at this feeder?”

“But I like eating here. The seed is fresher than at the ground feeder.”

Jere and Kristen invited us to join them and Roy and Deb in their Christmas Eve tradition of going to see a family movie at Penn Cinema and supper at their house.

Ian, Josh, Jared, Jana, Jesse, Allie

It was almost like having a private viewing, as it was our group and maybe six or eight other people.

Love unposed pictures! 🙂

I gave them a second chance, and expect they will like this one better. However, they are still covering Jared’s face with the popcorn container.

This year they went to see The Road Chip – an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie.

Oh, what fun!

It was a combination of Roy and Deb’s house “The Nut Hut” and the movie Home Alone.

I didn’t even like taking a bathroom break because I didn’t want to miss the action.

When they discovered that their “dad” was dating this young man’s mother, they did all kinds of things to keep them apart – because they didn’t like each other. Buy the end of the movie they liked each other and did every thing they could to get their parents together again. 🙂

Dale was pushed out of the nest by his mother because he was born with something similar to Downs Syndrome.

Evan the possum is beautiful – for a possum.

When I asked Deb why she hadn’t released him in the fall, she said because Dale has bonded with Evan like a parent – and due to being special needs, Dale needs a parent.

Harley knew immediately that Inge was a cat-lover and responded to her attention.

Deb said it is unusual for Harley to respond to people the way he did to Inge.

Presley is a special needs raccoon – and must stay at the Nut Hut.

Skippi Rae is one of Deb’s first rescues and oversees the deck where many outside squirrels come to eat.

One time she “warned” all the inside animals that there was a hawk outside.

Roy and Deb (our youngest daughter) truly care for their rescues and love when they can release them – as they do with most animals – but when the animal cannot go back into the wild, they make sure they have a good life – with them or someone else.

I missed getting a picture of their flying squirrel and hedge hog – and the two skunks are hibernating for the winter.

Since we were there, they got a tiny baby goat. He was one of four, and the mother made sure everyone knew that she was not going to take care of him. I will have some pictures of him in the near future.

They live in an area where there are many Amish, so we usually see signs of them on our way to or from their place.

Holsteins in a field always make me miss my dad – a dairy farmer.

Thanks, Roy and Deb, for taking time to show Inge your animals.

It was fun for us to see each of them – and meet Dale and Evan for the first time.

This was the day I kept Reuben and Judi’s little ones while they were in court concerning Little K’s adoption.

Our daughter Deb brought Lydia back to our house so she could help me care for the little ones.

Deb rescues many orphaned baby animals during the spring and summer months (deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, skunks, and opossums), then releases them – and usually brings something along when she comes to visit.

Little K enjoyed the baby raccoon.

Eating a pop tart.

Jesse was along as well, because he was spending the week with Roy and Deb.

Miss K wasn’t comfortable touching the raccoon.

Gathering shellbarks for Deb’s squirrels.

Uncle Cerwin is home.

Miss K loves to play this game on one of my old computers.

I’ve had this game since our oldest grandchildren were little.

I like this game for little children because they can feed animals, plow fields, play songs, feed children, pick up toys, and help a dog find a bone by pressing the space bar on the keyboard.

While they were in my office, Little K and I were in the living room.

We learned to not put any trash in this waste can while they were here because he loved trying to play on top of it or throw toys into it.

He was standing quite well while they were here, and taking a few steps. He began walking shortly after they returned home.

~~~

Reuben and Judi came home with fairly good news – that the parent’s previous signatures to the adoption arrangement almost guaranteed that Reuben and Judi could keep Little K. The judge was going to look over everything and get back to them in a week or two.

~~~

Update: I received a “Praise the Lord” email the other day informing us that the adoption has been approved, and will be finalized sometime this fall. We are so excited for them.

Personal

My husband, Cerwin, and I have four married children and sixteen grandchildren. Three granddaughters are married and we have one great-grandson. We serve with Transport For Christ - a ministry to truck drivers - and love our life in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.